Since he had discovered me, I couldn't pretend anymore.
I nodded and replied, "Yes, I saw him. He's the oldest one, right?"
I didn't expect the white-haired old man to actually be surnamed Bai.
"That's him," Zhang Hongsheng said.
"Actually, I owe my position as village party secretary to Old Bai..."
As Zhang Hongsheng continued speaking, I initially listened as an outsider, not wanting to get involved.
After all, I had already been scolded for following them without permission.
However, before Zhang Hongsheng finished speaking, I felt my anger rising to the point where I almost slammed my fist on the table!
It turned out that Old Bai was a revered figure in the village, and everyone in the village, as well as surrounding villages and even townspeople, showed great deference to him.
The reason for this was largely due to the village's economic underdevelopment and outdated thinking.
Over time, their ideas had stagnated, and they had become stuck in a relatively backward mindset.
They believed fervently in ghosts and gods, and Old Bai, as the only "master" in the area, was highly respected.
It was said that he had settled in the village after following an old Taoist priest who had passed away.
After the walker outbreak, people initially hid in their homes, afraid to venture out.
The village was overrun with walkers, and many were bitten and killed in their own homes.
Later, Zhang Hongsheng took the lead and gradually gathered the surviving villagers.
According to Zhang Hongsheng, they initially had many more people, but the number dwindled over time due to various reasons.
The problem arose when two sons of one family contracted severe malaria.
Malaria is a serious disease that can be manageable for relatively healthy individuals with medication, but without proper treatment, it can be deadly.
The village had a private clinic, but the only doctor had been seen being attacked by walkers on the day of the outbreak.
With no other options, Zhang Hongsheng planned to gather a group to search for medicine at the clinic.
However, the number of walkers roaming the village was too great, and they were too afraid to venture out.
In desperation, the villagers turned to Old Bai, who had been quiet until then.
In their eyes, Old Bai was a master who could communicate with heaven, earth, humans, and ghosts.
They believed he could easily cure the malaria.
But Old Bai just shook his head, saying that the two children were being targeted by their deceased parents' spirits.
He claimed that humans couldn't compete with ghosts, and that the spirits of the children's own family members were too powerful to defy.
The villagers wanted to argue, but Old Bai's mysterious and authoritative demeanor intimidated them.
They were afraid of offending the spirits that were supposedly haunting the children.
As a result, no one dared to enter the children's room, except for Zhang Hongsheng's father, Zhang Tiejun.
Despite the risks, Zhang Tiejun took care of the children, but ultimately, they succumbed to their illness.
After several days of diarrhea and vomiting, the children passed away.
The villagers were saddened by the children's death, and some of the younger ones began to question Old Bai's claims.
They suspected that he might be making things up.
However, before long, Zhang Tiejun, who had been healthy, suddenly fell ill with the same symptoms - malaria.
The villagers' perception of Old Bai changed overnight.
Even the skeptical young people began to pray and seek forgiveness, hoping that Old Bai would spare them from the supposed curse.
Zhang Tiejun's illness and subsequent death were seen as proof of Old Bai's claims.
However, I found their logic to be absurd.
Two children died of malaria, and if someone else got sick, it was supposedly because of vengeful spirits?
It was ridiculous!
After Zhang Tiejun fell ill, the villagers were too afraid to approach him.
They abandoned him in the same room where the two children had died, only allowing Aunt Zhang to bring him food and water once a day.
However, by that point, Zhang Tiejun was too weak to eat or drink.
It was ironic that Aunt Zhang didn't seem to care about her husband's condition.
Instead, she would reluctantly bring him food, fearing that she might be contaminated with bad luck.
Eventually, Zhang Hongsheng had to take over, but unfortunately, Zhang Tiejun passed away the next day.
After Zhang Tiejun's death, Old Bai ordered that the bodies of the two children and Zhang Tiejun be buried in a pit without being covered with soil.
This was the "empty burial" ritual that I had witnessed in the forest.
When Shen Feng heard this, he asked curiously, "The two children died several days before Zhang Tiejun. Where were their bodies kept in the meantime?"
Shen Feng's question was also on my mind.
Given the time frame, the two children's bodies should have turned into walkers.
Considering the villagers' fear of walkers, how did they manage to keep the bodies?
Zhang Hongsheng replied, "The bodies were left in the eastern shed. After they died, my father fell ill, and everyone was panicked. With the situation outside, no one had the energy to deal with the children's bodies. Old Bai insisted that we wait until the right moment to bury them together, so they were just left there for several days."
"Wait, wait," I interrupted Zhang Hongsheng, asking curiously, "You're saying that during that time, the two children didn't rise as walkers? Like the ones we see now?"
Zhang Hongsheng looked at me strangely and nodded. "That's right. They didn't change."
"And your father too?" Shen Feng asked.
"Yes, him too. When we threw them into the pit, the two children rose as walkers a few days before my father did."
"How long ago was that?" I asked.
"About a month ago. The bodies were stored in the yard for around 20 days."
"They didn't decompose?"
"No, they didn't." Zhang Hongsheng paused, and then his gaze suddenly snapped back to me.
"Oh, right! Now that you mention it, I remember something important. I almost forgot to ask you..."
"Go ahead and ask," I said.
"You're from outside. When someone dies, do they immediately rise as walkers, or is there a significant delay?" Zhang Hongsheng asked, and we all pondered the information he had just shared.
How could the two children and Zhang Tiejun have taken so long to rise?
After a moment, Yangyang replied, "They usually rise within minutes of death, but that's specifically for those who are bitten by walkers. We haven't encountered cases of people dying from illness and then rising."
"Do the bodies always decompose?" Zhang Hongsheng asked.
Yangyang nodded. "They rot beyond recognition."
Zhang Hongsheng didn't respond, and neither did anyone else.
We all exchanged uncertain glances, our faces filled with confusion.
For a long time, we thought we had a grasp on the situation, that our months of experience and exploration had given us a thorough understanding of this new world.
But now, Zhang Hongsheng's words and questions had shattered our assumptions.
We realized that our understanding of the situation was far from complete.
In fact, we knew almost nothing.
How did the virus spread?
Was it really a sudden, overnight change, or had it been happening for a while and was just being covered up?
That night was just a massive breaking point that made the situation extremely dire.
Why did the two children and Zhang Tiejun take so long to rise after death?
And why didn't they decompose? Was it really like Old Bai said?
This completely defied my understanding of the world.
I turned to Suo Tian, who was still staring at the fire, and asked, "Suo Tian, do you know what's going on?"
As soon as I asked, everyone's gaze shifted to Suo Tian.
Everyone felt that Suo Tian might know something we didn't, and it was a strange but palpable feeling.
Even I felt that way.
Suo Tian didn't respond to my question.
Instead, he looked at Zhang Hongsheng for a moment before saying, "You should be concerned about how to stop them from feeding your brother to the walkers."
Zhang Hongsheng's eyes met Suo Tian's, and he replied, "I won't be able to stop them alone. Their minds are made up, and they won't listen to reason. It'll have to be done by force."
"This doesn't concern us," Suo Tian responded quickly.
"It does. I agreed to let you stay," Zhang Hongsheng said.
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